Helen Toribio

I took AAS 200 in Spr 03 semester and Toribio is not really good. She tends to say "uh" and "um" in every and I mean EVERY sentence and words she said. I felt she needed to raise her voice sometimes so that the whole class can hear what she is saying. Her tests are HARD especially since it's multiple choice and there is "all of the above" and "a and b" answers. You should find another AAS 200 instructor b/c she is not that good.

Contrary to what everyone said, I thought the class in it of itself was easy. Toribio is very detailed and organized when it came to her lectures. She did provide us with xtra credit, and thats probably why I got a good grade in the class. The type to miss classes? Not really wise to do in her case because unless you're a thorough reader (hard to do after a while since she gives out 50-pages of reading) or you remember all the other AAS lectures you've ever had, you'll most likely get a bad grade. Anyway the only area I had a problem with was her attitude and ambiguous way of asking questions on her tests. She asks the class if their are any questions in that irritated tone of voice, and then, not surprisingly, yells at the person who does. And about her tests...mostly on her lectures, very specific, and at times very confusing. Her lectures are soo detailed that when she expects a general answer on her test there always seems to be more than one possible answer. Other than that...if you're into learning take her because she's the only Asian Amer teacher that can hammer info into your brain (if you're willing).

after reading some reviews about toribio i thought that i would learn a lot in this class. i must admit, if you read the book and go to class everyday, you should easily pass with at least a B+. the thing with her is that her notes confuse me. i DID pay attention when i DID attend class but i would still be confused. when lecturing, she says a lot of 'ums' and 'uhs' which can get irritating after a while. at the beginning of the semester she talked about having to write all these journals and the final being a long ass paper, but most of that was not even true. we only did a few journals during the first 2 months into the semester and she gave us the choice of either writing a 10-13 page paper or in-class test for the final. it was a pretty easy class. as long as you go every day, read the book, and seriously pay attention to what she's talking about, then you'll get an A. i passed with a B and i hardly went. all i have to say is she's not the greatest teacher at State.

Ms. Tobribio is a greate teacher. Her class is very easy to follow, and she explain everything clearly.

However, don't take her class if you like to skip classes. Her exam questions are based on the notes and stuff she mentioned in the class. I was amazed that many people kept skipping her class during the semester, and of course, those people ended up failing and upset.

Notes taking wasn't a problem for me, since I just simply copied down the year and event. Her exams are basically multiple/short answer questions (easy for me).

There is a final paper, but we spent at least 4 classes for group discussion on the final project. Plenty of time, so it's shouldn't be a problem. There are some extra credit project also; just simply write a page of experience on one social event and you are done.

Helen Toribio is a great teacher, but she is very hard. Her tests are decent, but her lectures are sometimes hard to follow. You have to write a lot of notes because her classes are full of information. I missed one class, which is about two pages of notes. If you really want to learn about Asian American history, you must take this teacher. She takes her subject matter very seriously.

There are so many Asian American Studies classes I took at SFSU. This is the first class that I actually learned a lot about Asian American history. The class is based on a book called Strangers From a Different Shore. The whole semester we had this book and learned about the history of Asian Americans. It was actually interesting to me. Her lectures were clear and thorough. Her notes on the board could get sloppy at times, but it wasn't that big of a deal. She gives a study guide and tells us the answers to the questions in her lectures and that is what we have to study off of for the exam. The exams are kind of tricky. It consists of multiple questions, but there's a lot of (all of the above) answers. Overall, she was a great teacher and would recommend her.

I would have to first warn you about this instructor. She is very hard, but if you really want to learn about Asian American History, she is the one for you. I got an A in the class, but only because I never missed one day of class because she has a role sheet you must sign. Also, there is a 10 page research paper you must do.